Nov. 18 news: Lengthy CPR, antibiotics for kids, head lice

Philadelphia Inquirer – Giving CPR for more than 30 minutes may be worth itExperts agree that after someone’s heart stops, the sooner CPR is started the better the chances of survival.
And now Japanese researchers report that continuing CPR for a half hour or more may help more victims survive with good brain function.
The study found that even after 38 minutes of CPR, people could still recover and have good brain function.

Reuters – Be cautious with antibiotics for kids: committeePediatricians should carefully evaluate kids with ear infections, runny noses and sore throats before giving them antibiotics, doctors said today.Antibiotics will only help shorten kids’ sickness if their symptoms are caused by bacteria and not by a virus, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases noted.Still, studies show many children and adults are given the drugs for coughs and colds caused by viruses. That increases the risk of antibiotic resistance, without doing patients any good.

Boston Globe – Changing school policy on head liceWhen my daughter developed a bad case of head lice a decade ago, I spent hours over three days checking and removing more than a hundred tiny glossy lice eggs from my then 8-year-old’s long curly hair; it was necessary to comply with her school’s no-nit policy.I agreed with the policy, at the time, convinced that this was the only way to deal with the problem. After all, if those nits remained and hatched new lice, my daughter could keep getting re-infested and spread lice to her friends.

USA Today – Retirees, here’s how health care law affects youAverage working Americans aren’t the only ones having trouble figuring out the Affordable Care Act. Middle-income retirees are unfamiliar with at least two individual provisions of what many refer to as Obamacare. And that could hurt them, according to a recent Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement survey.